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Russian Navy should operate at least four aircraft carriers, expert believes
Military & Defense July 26, 12:33 UTC+3
The US Navy currently operates 11 aircraft carriers
MOSCOW, July 26. /TASS/. The Russian Navy should operate at least four aircraft carriers, Scientific Head of the Krylov State Research Center Valery Polovinkin told TASS on Thursday.
The Russian Northern and Pacific Fleets "should have aircraft-carrying ships by definition," the expert noted.
Russia’s sole aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov to enter 7-month trials after upgrade
"Simple arithmetic shows that a ship cannot constantly stay in operation and should undergo various types of maintenance, repairs and so on. So, even theoretically, there should be at least two ships per region," Polovinkin said.
Speaking about the US Navy, which currently operates 11 aircraft carriers, the expert noted that the United States had an excessive number of carrier-led groups but the availability of only one aircraft carrier was a "deadlocked situation."
This ship "won’t be able to accomplish the entire range of missions and a half of the fleet will only have to deal with protecting it," the expert said.
"As for the displacement of the future Russian aircraft carrier, I would give the figures of 60,000 to 100,000 tonnes. This range is easy to explain: the displacement choice directly depends on the type of the ship’s powerplant and the lineup of aircraft," the Krylov Center scientific head said.
Aircraft carriers in Russia
The Russian Navy currently operates the sole medium-sized conventional aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov (the heavy aircraft-carrying cruiser under the Russian classification). The Russian Navy has said it expects to get the promising nuclear-powered aircraft carrier by late 2030 and its displacement should be no less than 70,000 tonnes.
The Krylov State Research Centre has developed and presented to the public at large the conceptual design of an aircraft carrier for foreign customers, which was earlier offered for the domestic fleet as well. The Project 23000 was called Shtorm (Storm). The conceptual design envisages the aircraft carrier to displace 80,000-90,000 tonnes and feature a combined powerplant (a nuclear reactor and a gas turbine engine). The ship’s air group should comprise up to 60 aircraft.
 http://tass.com/defense/1014893
Russia to build new aircraft carrier no sooner than 2030 — expert
Military & Defense July 26, 16:02 UTC+3
No less than a decade will be required to build it, given favorable conditions, the expert said
MOSCOW, July 26. /TASS/. The construction of a new aircraft carrier in Russia will take at least a decade and this warship is likely to appear no sooner than 2030-2035, Scientific Head of the Krylov State Research Center Valery Polovinkin told TASS on Thursday.
Russian Navy should operate at least four aircraft carriers, expert believes
"The Russian factories’ technological potential allows solving any assigned task. But from my viewpoint, a new aircraft carrier won’t be built sooner than 2030-2035," Polovinkin said, adding that "no less than a decade will be required to build it, given favorable conditions."
However, "it is inadmissible" for the Russian Navy to have a small aircraft carrier because in this case it would be able to accomplish partial missions only, lacking reconnaissance, radar surveillance and target acquisition planes, attack and air support aircraft, the expert said.
"At the same time, I don’t support the viewpoint that Russian aircraft carriers should necessarily have their displacement similar to the displacement of US warships: 100,000 tonnes and more. The UK aircraft carrier Queen Elizabeth in its gas turbine version has a displacement of about 60,000 tonnes and all the required aircraft," Polovinkin said.
The comparatively small displacement of future Russian aircraft carriers "can be offset through radical changes in their hull’s shape," the scientist added.
According to forecasts of Russia’s Economic Development Ministry, the construction of promising blue-water surface ships, including aircraft carriers, may be postponed until 2035 under the conservative scenario of the Russian economy’s development and a shortage of funds.
http://tass.com/defense/1014931
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